BARCELONA (Reuters) – Microsoft has released demos of two AI-powered telecom network management services using the same management tools as its Azure cloud platform.
The company stated in a blog post that operators might gain from cutting-edge artificial intelligence that helps uncover new business prospects from data and insights into their operations, including developing high-speed 5G networks.
After acquiring cloud networking firms Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch in 2020, Microsoft became the first player in the 5G market.
The corporation has a strong focus on AI. It has made significant investments in OpenAI’s ChatGPT bot, increasing the attention that artificial intelligence has received in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. While OpenAI continues its quest to develop artificial intelligence comparable to human intellect, Microsoft stated last month that it wants to include such AI in its products.
According to Jason Zander, executive vice president of strategic missions and technologies at Microsoft – “What we’re doing is taking our native cloud work and making it specific to this telecom operator network space. I think a really great example of that is all the AI ops work that we are introducing into the system,” “We are bringing that same technology into this space,” he added. “Every operator I’ve shown this to is extremely excited.”
Monica Zethzon, a vice president at Ericsson, said the developments would allow operators to “transform their core networks while improving customer experiences”.
Microsoft’s new Nexus service, an all-in-one platform that enables operators to operate their networks from the cloud, and two distinct “AIOps” services, will be useful to telecom partners, including AT&T Inc, Ericsson, and Nokia Oyj.
Igal Elbaz, senior vice president, Network CTO, AT&T, said – “AT&T made the decision to adopt Azure Operator Nexus platform over time with the expectation to lower total cost of ownership, leverage the power of AI to simplify operations, improve time to market and focus on our core competency of building the world’s best 5G service.”
According to Microsoft – Tech Mahindra and Microsoft have announced a strategic alliance to enable cloud-powered 5G core network modernization for telecom operators globally. The 5G core network transformation will help telecom operators to develop 5G core use cases and meet their customers’ growing technological (Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), IoT (Internet of Things), and edge computing) requirements. It will enable them to modernize, optimize, and secure business operations and develop green networks with reduced costs and a faster time to market.
In parallel, Microsoft is also launching Azure Communications Gateway, a managed, cloud-based voice gateway that simplifies connecting operator fixed and mobile voice networks to Teams Phone. It combines a high-availability, Teams-certified and mobile-standards-compliant Session Border Controller (SBC) with API mediation function—removing the need for disruptive voice network changes and substantial IT system integration projects.
On the AI, Microsoft is launching two new “AIOps” services — Azure Operator Insights and Azure Operator Service Manager. Operator Insights uses machine learning to provide unified visibility into data from disaggregated networks for end-to-end analytical and business insights.
, while Azure Operator Service Manager reduces service orchestration complexity by consolidating software and configuration management tasks into a single set of end-to-end Azure operations.
Source – Microsoft, TechCrunch and Reuters and MSN